Il 96 400 perspective characteristics. The Russian long-haul airliner is preparing for rebranding. Well forgotten old

At first I wanted to give the article as a separate material, but then I thought that it would be better to put such information together.

MS-21 - airliner with a “black” wing

In the world civil aviation There are only three aircraft whose wings are made of polymer composite materials (PCM). These are the Boeing B787 Dreamliner, Airbus A350 XWB and Bombardier CSeries. More recently, the Russian MS-21 joined this trio.

One of the advantages of composite parts is their resistance to corrosion and damage propagation. Composites can be called universal materials; they can be used in aircraft construction, the defense industry, shipbuilding and other areas in which increased demands are placed on the material for such characteristics as strength and rigidity, good resistance to brittle fracture, heat resistance, stability of properties during sudden changes in temperature, durability .

The production of composite parts in the aircraft industry is carried out by autoclave molding - producing multilayer products from so-called prepregs - semi-finished composite materials obtained by preliminary impregnation of carbon fabrics with polymer resin. One of the significant disadvantages of this technology is the high cost of the resulting parts, which is largely determined by the duration of the molding process, the limited shelf life of prepregs and the high cost of technological equipment. According to regulatory documents, the guaranteed shelf life of prepreg in a freezer in the temperature range from -19°C to -17°C is 12 months. The storage time of the prepreg at a temperature of 20±2°C is 20 days, while the blank part can be laid out in the conditions of the production site only for 10 days.

An alternative to prepreg-autoclave technology are “direct” processes, the essence of which is to combine the operations of impregnating carbon fiber or glass fabric with a binder and molding the part, which leads to a reduction in production cycle time, reduced energy and labor costs and, as a result, a reduction in cost technologies. One of these processes is the vacuum infusion method - Vacuum Infusion, VARTM.

According to this technology, the impregnation of dry carbon fiber and the molding of the part occurs on a tool with a vacuum bag attached to it. The polymer binder is pumped into the mold due to the vacuum created under the vacuum bag. This allows you to significantly reduce the cost of preparing for the production of large structures due to the possibility of using simpler and cheaper equipment. The main disadvantages of vacuum infusion technology include, first of all, the difficulties of reproducibility of the process - careful development of the technology is necessary in order to obtain parts with stable geometric and physical-mechanical characteristics.

As a result of a survey conducted in the United States in 2006, American aerospace manufacturers concluded that the vacuum infusion method was not sufficiently researched and developed for use in the manufacture of large tier 1 parts in passenger airliners.

But a lot has changed since then.

As is known, the wide-body Boeing airliner The B787 Dreamliner is made of PCM fuselage and wings, which are produced using the autoclave-prepreg method. Also for this aircraft, the German company Premium Aerotec uses the VAP (Vacuum Assisted Process) method to manufacture the pressurized bulkhead, Boeing Aerostructures (formerly Hawker de Havilland) uses the CAPRI (Controlled Atmospheric Pressure Resin Infusion) method to produce deflectable aerodynamic elements of the fin, wing and tail: ailerons, flaperons, flaps and spoilers. The Canadian company Bombardier uses the LRI method and autoclave polymerization to produce the wings of the CSeries family of aircraft. GKN Aerospace from the UK in May 2016 demonstrated a composite center section manufactured using a non-autoclave vacuum infusion method using an inexpensive set of tools and equipment.

The Russian Aerocomposite plant in Ulyanovsk is the first in world civil aviation to use the non-autoclave vacuum infusion method (VARTM) for the manufacture of large first-level integrated structures from PCM.

The wings and empennage of a typical narrow-body aircraft make up 45% of the airframe's weight, with the fuselage accounting for another 42%. UAC sees a problem that must be solved in order to achieve success in the conditions of fierce competition in the market of narrow-body aircraft - if the optimal use of composites in the design of the MC-21 will reduce the weight of the airliner and reduce production costs by 45%, then both the aircraft and Russian technological companies will strengthen their positions in the global aircraft industry.

Why vacuum infusion?

A 2009 study found that using an oven instead of an autoclave can reduce capital costs from $2 million to $500,000. For parts between 8 m² and 130 m², an oven can cost 1/7 to 1/10 the cost of a comparable sized autoclave. In addition, the cost of dry fiber and liquid composite core can be up to 70% less than the same materials in prepreg. The MS-21 has a wing size of 3x36 meters for the 200 and 300 models, and 3x37 meters for the MS-21-400 model. The size of the center section is 3x10 meters. Thus, the cost savings of Aerocomposite seem to be very significant.

However, Anatoly Gaidansky, General Director of Aerocomposite CJSC, explains that the cost of autoclaves and prepregs was not the only decision criterion in favor of the vacuum infusion method. This technology makes it possible to create large integral structures that work as a single unit.

At the request of JSC Aerocomposite, the Austrian companies Diamond Aircraft and Fischer Advanced Composite Components (FACC AG) manufactured 4 ten-meter prototypes of the wing caisson, which from the summer of 2011 to March 2014 underwent a full range of strength tests at TsAGI, and an experimental joining of the prototype caisson was carried out wing with center section. These studies, firstly, confirmed that the design parameters laid down by the designers ensure flight safety, and secondly, the use of large integral structures significantly reduces the labor intensity of assembly, reduces the number of parts and fasteners.

Anatoly Gaidansky adds to this: “Dry carbon fiber can be stored almost indefinitely, which is impossible with prepregs. Infusion allows us to provide adaptive production planning based on program scale.”

Currently, the vacuum infusion method is planned to be used for the manufacture of large power integral elements of the first level: spars and wing skin with stringers, sections of center section panels, power elements and skin of the keel and tail. These elements will be manufactured and assembled at the Aerocomposite plant in Ulyanovsk.

Prepregs and autoclave molding technology will be used at KAPO-Composite in Kazan, a joint venture of Aerocomposite CJSC and the Austrian FACC AG. Fairings, wing mechanization elements will be produced here: ailerons, spoilers, flaps, as well as elevators and rudder.

Autoclaves at the KAPO-Composite plant in Kazan / Photo (c) Aerocomposite JSC

Technology development

The technology for producing the “black” wing of the MS-21 aircraft was created by AeroComposite specialists in close cooperation with foreign manufacturers of technological equipment. The vacuum infusion method has existed for many years, but such a large and complex product as an airplane wing was first made using this technology in Ulyanovsk.

No one has ever used automatic laying out of dry material for the manufacture of large integral structures in the aircraft industry.

From 2009 to 2012, Aerocomposite worked with various companies around the world to select materials and repeatable process technology of the required precision and quality. Resins, dry carbon fiber and prepregs from American companies Hexcel and Cytec were selected. Robotic installations for dry automated laying of carbon filler were supplied by Coriolis Composites; wing spars are produced using this equipment. The robotic installation for dry laying of the portal type, on which the wing panels are made, was supplied by the Spanish MTorres. TIAC thermal infusion centers were developed by the French company Stevik.

According to Anatoly Gaidansky, the vacuum infusion process itself does not impose special requirements on the design of structural elements of the wing, it mainly affects the development of technological equipment, where a balance must be maintained between the ability to produce parts with high precision, while maintaining the functionality of the infusion process . In the research laboratory of JSC Aerocomposite, a large number of tests were carried out with materials, parts and samples of elements to determine this balance. As a result, a fabric was chosen in which the carbon fiber was not intertwined, but was fastened into a single fabric using a polymer thread. Due to the fact that the fiber does not intertwine, it has virtually no mechanical damage that affects the strength of the part.

“We tested open-textured materials to see how the resin flows, as well as denser fibers that require different filler permeability measures, such as tape gaps,” says Gaidansky.

MTorres was a key player in the material selection process as the Spanish company experimented extensively with different options for machine laying of dry fibre. Despite the fact that she already had significant experience, gained in 2009 with the development of fiberglass blades for Gamesa wind turbines, in 2012 a contract was signed with Aerocomposite to develop equipment for the automated laying of dry carbon fiber, which seemed to be a much more difficult task. . Composite products usually consist of several layers of carbon fiber with different orientation angles - such fabric laying is necessary to optimize resistance to load in various directions, since a composite wing during aircraft operation is exposed to a complex external load, which works in both compression and tension, and for twisting.

“Dry material, unlike prepregs, by definition is not impregnated with any resin, and thus easily moves from the position in which it is laid,” explains MTorres sales director Juan Solano. “Our goal was to somehow fix the material for accurate automated laying and make sure that it does not change its position later.”

To solve this problem, a very thin layer of thermoplastic was used as a bonding element to hold the fiber in place. Mr. Solano says that to activate the bond layer, MTorres developed a heat sink that is placed at the head of the preform to ensure minimal sticking. This solution made the automated layout process viable.

When choosing carbon fiber and composite resin, the goal was to standardize as much as possible the materials that will be used for the manufacture of both the wing and the center section panels. Hexcel's HiTape material has been modified to meet MTorres specifications to enable automated lay-up and fiber alignment accuracy. Hexcel claims that with HiTape it is possible to achieve automated layup speeds of 50kg/hour. However, Anatoly Gaidansky clarifies: “On this moment, for the very beginning of our program, we are targeting a lay-out speed of 5 kg/h. However, in the future we will improve the technology to improve the productivity of complex structures. Relevant studies are currently underway in our laboratory.”

Manual cutting of carbon fiber in the research laboratory of Aerocomposite JSC

After fiber placement, the preform is placed in a TIAC thermal infusion unit. TIAC is an integrated system that consists of an injection module, a heating module and a hardware and software complex to ensure automation of the infusion process with precise adherence to specified process parameters. The unit mixes, heats and degasses the epoxy resin, controls the process of filling the vacuum bag with resin and the polymerization process. TIAC monitors and controls the temperature and amount of resin entering the preform, filling speed, vacuum bag and preform integrity. The vacuum level is controlled with an accuracy not exceeding 1/1000 bar - 1 millibar.

Automated thermal infusion center TIAC 22×6 meters

Spar in the thermal infusion center

Center section panel in thermal infusion center

The production cycle time varies from 5 to 30 hours depending on the type, size and complexity of the part being manufactured. The polymerization process takes place at a temperature of 180°C and can be maintained with an accuracy of ±2°C up to a maximum value of 270°C.

How it happens in reality

The technological process for manufacturing the MS-21 wing box is as follows:

Preparing equipment and laying out auxiliary materials.
Laying out dry carbon tape and pre-forming in automatic mode on lay-out equipment.
Assembling the vacuum bag.
Infusion (impregnation) of a dry workpiece in a thermal infusion automated center.
Disassembling the package and cleaning the parts.
Carrying out non-destructive testing.
Machining and geometry control.
Painting and assembly.

All work is carried out in a “clean room”, in which the number of dispersive particles in the air does not exceed the number in a sterile operating room, because if even a small speck of dust gets into the carbon, it becomes of poor quality and the product will be rejected.

After laying out the spar preforms, they go to the section for moving from positive to negative equipment, and the wing panel skin preforms go to the section for moving the laying out equipment to the infusion one. Here the equipment is sealed in a special envelope, with tubes connected to it from different sides. Air is pumped out one at a time, and binder is supplied through others due to the resulting vacuum.

The stringers and panels are laid out of carbon fiber separately, but using special equipment they are filled with composite resin together. Polymerization of the panel with stringers using infusion technology occurs in one cycle. With autoclave technology, two curing cycles are required: 1st cycle – curing of stringers, 2nd cycle – joint curing of stringers and sheathing, while the total time costs are 5% higher, and energy costs are 30% higher than when using VARTM technology .

The vacuum infusion method in one impregnation cycle allows you to create an integral monolithic part, as opposed to adhesive-riveted autoclave structures, where an adhesive film is placed between the stringer and the skin, and the process of installing mechanical fasteners for additional fixation of the stringers increases the complexity of manufacturing panels up to 8%.

Next, the preforms are moved to automated thermoinfusion centers with working area dimensions of 22x6x4 m and 6x5.5x3 m, depending on the size of the part. Here the process of infusion and polymerization of the product takes place.

The assembly line stand, where the final joining of wing panels of the MC-21 aircraft will be carried out

At the end of the infusion, the part enters the non-destructive ultrasonic testing area. Here, using the Technatom robotic installation, the quality and reliability of the resulting part is assessed - the absence of cracks, cavities, unevenness of the hardened filler, etc. Non-destructive testing is of particular importance when creating and operating vital products, which, in particular, is an aircraft wing.

The next stage is mechanical processing of the part on a 5-axis milling center MTorres, after which the finished panel or spar is delivered to the wing box assembly area.

What does a composite wing provide?

Air flow around a wing of finite span - the appearance of inductive drag

As a result, two vortex ropes are formed behind the ends of the wing, which are called co-current jets. The energy spent on the formation of these vortices determines the induced drag of the wing. To overcome inductive resistance, additional engine energy is consumed, and, consequently, additional fuel.

There is no induced drag on a wing of infinite aspect ratio, but a real airplane cannot have such a wing. To assess the aerodynamic perfection of a wing, there is the concept of “aerodynamic quality of the wing” - the higher it is, the more perfect the aircraft. The aerodynamic quality of a wing can be improved by increasing its effective aspect ratio - the longer the wing, the lower its induced drag, lower fuel consumption, and longer flight range.

Aircraft designers have always strived to increase the effective aspect ratio of a wing. For the MS-21 wing, a supercritical profile was chosen - a profile in which the upper surface is almost flat and the lower surface is convex. One of the advantages of this profile is the ability to create a high aspect ratio wing, and in addition, such a wing makes it possible to increase cruising flight speed without increasing drag. The laws of aerodynamics force swept wings to be made thin; a supercritical wing can be made thick without increasing aerodynamic drag. The design of such a wing is lighter and more technologically advanced to manufacture than a thin one, and a larger supply of fuel can be accommodated in the resulting internal space.

The typical wing aspect ratio for aircraft of previous generations was 8–9, for modern ones it was 10–10.5, and for the MC-21 it was 11.5. To make a wing from aluminum with a high aspect ratio, in order to maintain its rigidity, it would be necessary to significantly increase the thickness of the wing, because aluminum is a soft metal, and increasing the thickness of the wing means increasing drag. Carbon fiber is a much stiffer material, therefore, even without the use of winglets, the MS-21 high aspect ratio composite wing, formed by thin supercritical profiles (almost flat upper and convex lower surfaces), allows for 5-6% better aerodynamic quality at cruising flight speeds than the latest foreign analogues, and thereby achieve a greater flight range with lower fuel consumption, which ultimately increases the economic efficiency of the aircraft and its competitive advantage

Right composite wing of MS-21

Laying out the lower panel of the future wing of the MS-21 aircraft at the AeroComposite-Ulyanovsk plant

There has never been anything like this in our aviation industry. To be honest, I have never seen anything like this on Boeing or Airbus. And being at the plant, where all the employees are in white coats and shoe covers, there are special requirements for air quality and you see your reflection in the flooring, you can’t believe that all this is in Russia. For the first time in modern history We are not trying to replicate old proven technologies, and we are not trying to blindly copy foreign experience, but we are innovators and want to be at the technological forefront of the global civil aircraft industry.

Conclusion

The overwhelming superiority of the Western aviation industry in technology, technical equipment, the level of properties of the structural materials used, and the efficiency of approaches to organizing design and production processes provides American and European civil aircraft with competitive qualities that until now could not be realized in products of the domestic aviation industry. Such promising projects as the MS-21, designed to become the “locomotives” of the comprehensive modernization of the Russian civil aircraft industry, should change the current situation. Already in the process of carrying out experimental work at the stage of detailed design, the participants of the MS-21 Program created the groundwork for the formation of modern production, focused on the most advanced technologies.

September 29, 2016 at the Center international trade The awards ceremony for the winners and laureates of the Aircraft Builder of the Year competition took place. Members of the Expert Council reviewed over 100 works of enterprises, organizations and creative teams. The results of the competition were summed up at a meeting of the Organizing Committee on September 5, 2016. Winner of the nomination “For the creation new technology» became the center of competence of the United Aircraft Corporation - the AeroComposite company for the development and application of the vacuum infusion method in creating the composite wing of the new MS-21-300 passenger aircraft. CEO AeroComposite JSC Anatoly Gaidansky, in turn, thanked the team, partners and everyone who worked together for seven years to implement this project.

An-124 "Ruslan" - strategic military transport aircraft

InoSMI - Science

Wikipedia

Photo (c) UAC/Aviastar-SP/Irkut Corporation http://aviation21.ru/ms-21-lajner-s-chyornym-krylom/

Andrey Velichko,
August 2016

The promising Russian wide-body airliner Il-96-400M will receive two engines instead of four - and this, the developers assure, will allow it to compete on equal terms with the best planes Boeing and Airbus. However, this will happen in seven years at best. Why is Russia modernizing an old Soviet airliner and will it interfere with the creation of a similar Russian-Chinese aircraft? Russia is launching the process of deep modernization of the Il-96-300 and the creation on its basis of a new wide-body passenger aircraft Il-96-400M.

As the chief designer of Il OJSC Nikolai Talikov told the newspaper VZGLYAD, in 2019 it is planned to build a prototype of the aircraft, conduct testing and certification. In 2020, its serial production should begin with final assembly at the Voronezh Aircraft Manufacturing Enterprise (VASO). In five years, by 2025, it is planned to assemble 7 such aircraft, that is, 1-2 aircraft per year. Although if there is interest in the aircraft, VASO will be able to produce three aircraft per year. “At one time, the plant produced eight to ten Il-86 aircraft per year,” recalls Talikov.

Unlike its predecessor (IL-96-300), the IL-96-400M fuselage will be increased by 9.35 meters due to two inserts in front of and behind the wing. In addition, the modernized airliner will receive a new heart. It will be equipped with more powerful PS-90A1 engines with a maximum thrust of 17.4 tons instead of PS-90A (16 tons). As a result, the Il-96-400M will be able to carry up to 415 passengers - 115 more than the Il-96-300.

The airliner will receive new radio communications and flight navigation equipment. There will be a more comfortable cabin with an additional central luggage rack and division into classes, the latest on-board equipment and an entertainment system. In other words, the filling of the airliner is planned to be brought to the modern world level.

Modernization of long-designed aircraft is a traditional world practice. For example, the Boeing 747 is older than the Il-96, but it still flies thanks to the fact that its hardware is constantly being modernized, notes the director of the Avia.ru portal Roman Gusarov. Including engines.

And the engines are the main problem of the new airliner. Even the new Perm PS-90A1 is still inferior in efficiency to its Western counterparts. A more worthy engine is only being developed. We are talking about the prospect of installing on the Il-96-400M, instead of four PS-90A1, two PD-35 engines with a take-off thrust of 35 tons. “With the same payload weight of 58 tons, it will be possible to increase the flight range from 8,750 km to 10,800, and fuel consumption will be significantly lower,” says Talikov. It is expected that when equipped with two engines, the Il-96-400M will be able to compete on equal terms with the foreign A-330-300Neo, B-787-8 and B-787-9, including in terms of fuel efficiency. The developer claims that in terms of cost per seat-kilometer it will be better than similar indicators from competitors. However, it is planned to certify the PD-35 only in 2024.

The lack of a modern engine can mean one thing - airlines are unlikely to show much interest in the modernized airliner. “The IL-96-400M would have good commercial prospects if it already had a modern engine. When the PD-35 engine is installed, then the aircraft will become comparable to imported analogues in terms of basic characteristics. In the meantime, the airliner will lose in two parameters - fuel consumption and the number of engines. Western technology flies on two engines, but we have four, which means operating costs are higher,” says Gusarov.

Hence such a small plan for the production of aircraft - 1-2 per year. “This will be quite enough. I think it will be possible to install seven aircraft by 2025 through the state aviation,” says Gusarov.

However, why in seven years will the Il-96-400M with the new PD-35 engine be needed, if by that time its competitor, the wide-body long-haul airliner that Russia is developing together with China, should take off? In Russia this aircraft is still called ShFDMS, in China - C929. According to the plan, the airliner should make its first flight in 2023, and the first deliveries will begin in 2026. This airliner promises to be not only comparable in basic characteristics to its Western counterparts, but also superior to them - thanks to the latest engines, composite materials and the latest advances in aerodynamics. It is expected that the Russian-Chinese airliner will be 10-15% more efficient than the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus 350.

The development and creation of production will require $13 billion in investment, and another $7 billion to create a spare parts supply system, sales support and marketing. Costs are divided equally between Russia and China. For comparison: a total of 53.4 billion rubles (or $940 million) is planned to be spent on the Il-96-400M modernization program for 2016-2023.

And yet there are reasons why the project to modernize an already quite old Soviet aircraft was supported and will be financed by the state.

Firstly, this relatively inexpensive project will allow the Russian aviation industry to retain technology and competencies - in other words, the ability to develop and build large wide-body aircraft. This is extremely important, because today only three countries (regions) in the world can build such airliners - the USA, Europe and Russia. In addition, the president flies on the Il-96-300; there are five such aircraft in the presidential fleet, and it is difficult to imagine that the first person of the Russian state will switch to a foreign, even Russian-Chinese, aircraft.

Secondly, no one can guarantee that everything will go according to plan for the Russian-Chinese project. China is a very complex, albeit very promising partner, and there are many examples of how joint Russian-Chinese plans were disrupted for one reason or another.

Finally, “much of what will be installed in the new version of the Il-96-400M can be used in the new Russian-Chinese project,” says Gusarov. For example, the same PD-35 engine can form the basis of the engine for this project.

In addition, if relations with the West suddenly worsen and affect the aviation sector, then the Il-96-400 will fill the niche of wide-body Boeings and Airbuses.

“In any case, no matter what happens with the Chinese project or no matter how relations with the West worsen, we will maintain the competencies and production of wide-body aircraft, we will retain personnel and technology. If necessary, it will be possible to expand production to 10 aircraft per year, which will be quite enough for our market, and there will still be some left for export. All over the world, large wide-body aircraft are not produced in such large volumes as traditional narrow-body aircraft,” the source says.

Finally, there is another extremely important reason, according to which Russia cannot be allowed to lose the technology to create such aircraft. On the basis of this aircraft, create third-generation air control centers, the so-called “doomsday” aircraft. They could be used in the event of a nuclear war if ground control structures are destroyed. The most famous of these specialized aircraft are the American E-4B based on the Boeing 747 airliners and the Russian Il-80, developed on the basis of the passenger Il-86.

In fact, the wide-body Il-86, created back in the 70s, was technically a breakthrough in the Soviet aviation industry. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they simply forgot about it: there was not enough money, and the technological chains were broken.

IN modern Russia The Il-96-300 was used only by Aeroflot (which had long been removed from its fleet) and the bankrupt airline Transaero. Although several aircraft are still in the fleet of the Presidential Administration and the state-owned Cuban airline.

Place of your own big airliner occupied by foreign competitors, mainly supported by Airbus (A310, 340) and Boeing (747,767, 777). There is a version that the problem was not even that the imported airliners were more economical and competitive than ours, but that the Americans and Europeans gave a conditional 10% of the deal for each ordered batch of their aircraft (they simply bribed them). Even if this is the case, the only way to change the situation in the near future is through market measures, making the Russian offer more attractive.

The main thing is that the state does not overstep the bounds and does not decide to force Russian airlines to buy the Il-96-400M under pressure without any apparent need. “If there is no imposition of a non-competitive aircraft on everyone and everything, then everything is fine. Still, airlines need to make money,” says Gusarov. It will be another matter if favorable conditions for the purchase and ownership of such aircraft are offered to airlines, and they themselves want to switch to their operation.

A source in the aviation industry told the newspaper VZGLYAD and the estimated cost of the future aircraft. In terms of price - 7 billion rubles or $120 million - the Il-96-400M already looks attractive, at least at the current ruble exchange rate. “It turns out that we are selling a wide-body aircraft at the price of a narrow-body aircraft. This is the approximate price of a narrow-body A-320,” notes Gusarov. However, for airlines, it is important how much it will cost to own the aircraft as a whole over the entire period of its operation. When the PD-35 engine appears, this cost may turn out to be no worse than its Western counterparts. And by that time Russian airlines There will just be a need to replenish the fleet with wide-body aircraft. For example, according to Kommersant, Aeroflot will retire all 22 Airbus 330s and four out of 15 from its fleet by 2025.

Il-96-400M — promising project deep modernization of the Il-96 airliner. Increased capacity, improved flight and economic characteristics suggest the return of the aircraft to the commercial air transportation market.

Il-96-400– wide-body long-haul passenger airliner. It is a deeply modernized modification of the basic Il-96-300 aircraft. An improved version of the Il-96-400M is being developed.

The passenger version was not produced due to lack of orders.

Story

Il-96M

In 1988, the newest Soviet long-range wide-body airliner Il-96, which received an additional index of -300, made its first flight. Equipped with new on-board equipment and engines, the Il-96-300 was significantly superior to both the long-range Il-62 and its direct ancestor, the Il-86. However, among its advantages over its predecessors there was one more - the Ilyushin team took into account the problems that arose when trying to modify the Il-86 and, when creating the Il-96, invested in it huge potential for modernization in various directions. All this could have made the airliner very successful if not for the collapse of the USSR and the sharp weakening of the aviation industry new Russia. The IL-86 ceased to be produced by 1997, and although the IL-96 was retained, it is produced individually.

However, the modernization potential of the aircraft worked well in its favor. In 1993, on the wave of euphoria and mutual friendship between the Russian Federation and the United States, the updated Il-96M was lifted into the air - the first-ever brainchild of joint work between aviators of the two countries. The aircraft received a fuselage extended by as much as 8.5 meters, American avionics and Pratt & Whitney PW2337 engines (from the family of engines used on the Boeing 757 and C-17 Globemaster III). At the same time, the capacity increased to 435 people, the maximum take-off weight to 270 tons, and the range to 12,800 km (similar indicators of the IL-96-300: capacity of 300 people, maximum take-off weight of 250 tons, range of 9,000 km). The airliner even received an FAA certificate, but, of course, did not see much demand: it’s 1997 - the United States has a lot of its own aircraft, but in Russia there is no money for such airliners. As a result, the plane returned to its homeland for some time, received old NK-86 engines and appeared at MAKS-2003 under the symbol Il-96-400. In 2009, the plane was cut down.

Il-96-400

However, the very impressive performance of the Il-96M did not allow it to sink into history forever. Moreover, in the 1990s, large twin-engine airliners had not yet conquered the skies, and in Europe similar Airbus characteristics A340.

The Ilyushin team decided not to let go of the opportunity and created a new version based on the Il-96M, replacing foreign components with Russian ones. They left him with the designation Il-96-400, but it was a modernized vehicle: the onboard systems were improved, and new, uprated PS-90A1 engines with a thrust of up to 17.4 tf were installed under the wing (regular PS-90A with a thrust of 16 tf were not able to pull the heavier vehicle) . Attempts to sell the passenger version were unsuccessful, but the cargo version of the Il-96-400T was more successful: several aircraft were operated by Atlant-Soyuz and Polet airlines, but by 2017 both of them ceased to exist. One of the aircraft for the Flight is modified into a version of the VKP - an air command post. Also, the Ministry of Defense announced the purchase of a trial batch of the Il-96-400 tanker version. There is information about a potential large order for 30 aircraft in the future.

Power point

The main power plant of the Il-96-300 is PS-90A engines with a thrust of up to 16 tf. The IL-96-400 is 20 tons heavier than its younger brother and to ensure the required flight characteristics it is equipped with four PS-90A1 engines, the thrust of which reaches 17.4 tf each. A very serious drawback of the PS-90A family of engines has always been considered to be their rather low reliability and low maintainability. Often, the main problem with the commercial operation of the Il-96 was its engines. However, over the course of many years these engines have been improved to acceptable performance and the PS-90A1, A2, A3 engines can already be considered acceptable. Versions of these engines are equipped with the Il-76MD-90A, also known under the designation Il-476.

However, it’s one thing that a good engine for military transport is one thing, and another thing is that it’s a fairly cheap and economical engine to operate for a commercial airliner. PS-90 was developed back in the 1980s and can no longer be called the cutting edge of modern progress. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind when pronouncing the phrase “new Russian aircraft engine” is the PD-14. PD-14 is the latest and most promising aviation jet engine, which is being developed primarily for the MS-21 medium-haul airliner. In addition, the aviation industry management is clearly betting on this engine in the long term. However, with all its advantages, the engine has a drawback - with its thrust of 14 tf, it is not powerful enough to be installed on the Il-96-400M. The option of installing the PD-14M - a forced version of the PD-14 with a thrust of 15.5 tf - is often discussed - it is being made for the promising, larger version of the MS-21-400. However, this is not enough, even taking into account the possible reduction in the weight of the airliner due to less fuel or lighter materials.

The solution is the PD-18 - an engine created on the basis of the PD-14. With a thrust of 18-20 tf, it is closest to what should be under the wing of the Il-96-400M. However, at the moment it is unknown when this engine will be created and put into production. Perhaps, taking into account the modernization of the IL-96, the creation of this engine will be accelerated.

So for the Il-96-400M there are 3 options:

PS-90A1 - available, but outdated
PD-14M - promising, but not powerful enough (the limits of effective boost are unknown, perhaps it can be accelerated to 17-17.5 tf)
PD-18 is the most optimal option, but the timing of its creation is still unknown

Il-96-400M and ShFDMS

SHFDMS - Sh Iroko F usable D alne M backbone WITH The aircraft, also known as the CR929, is a project for a new wide-body long-haul airliner with a capacity of 250-300 seats. The aircraft is being created jointly by the Russian UAC and the Chinese Comac.

It is assumed that this aircraft will appear in the mid-2020s. It will be equipped optionally with European or American-made engines (Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney or General Electric), and then with Russian PD-35 engines.

At first glance, it may seem that Russia is creating two long-haul airliners at once, which, given the economic situation, is strange. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that these aircraft belong to different market niches:

The CR-929 seats 250-300 passengers, while the Il-96-400M seats 330-435 passengers. That is, in the IL-96 line it goes one step higher, the CR-929 is different and complementary aircraft.

Il-96-X

In addition, by the end of the 2020s, when the CR-929 receives the PD-35, the same engine may become the basis of the power plant of the updated Il-96 - let's call it conventionally - X.

This is the same version of the IL-96 with two engines, which has been discussed in expert circles and in the media for a very long time.

Taking into account the experience of creating the CR919, the IL-96-X can receive not only new engines, but also a twin-engine design, improved filling and a new, black wing. Under such conditions, the Il-96 may not be a bad aircraft at all.

IFC proposes to make a salon at 415

However, in its current iteration, the IL-96-400 still does not meet the requirements of customers (whether government agencies or commercial organizations). It requires modernization, which will be discussed below:

What was impossible yesterday becomes possible today. The Voronezh Aviation Plant (VASO) began assembling the first experimental Il-96-400M, which is a modernized version of the good old Il-96-300, equipped, naturally, with no less good Perm PS-90 engines. The project was and now remains unprofitable, but who knows what the American sanctions will reach?

Both the Superjet and MS-21 have imported components, while the IL-96 (and PS-90 engines, of course) are completely domestic. So far, total bans in the field of aviation look like a bad dream, but the Russian leadership, apparently, has decided that our country should have a cure for such a nightmare. Just in case.

The issue was resolved precisely at this level, because in last years PJSC VASO produced new wide-body aircraft exclusively in the interests of government customers. However, back in May 2016, in parallel with the Russian-Chinese wide-body project, a fundamental decision was made to develop and launch into serial production a modernized Il-96-400M passenger aircraft for Russian airlines. At that time, many were perplexed as to why Russia needed two aircraft of the same type, but now much is becoming clear.

Well forgotten old

The new modification will differ from the basic Il-96 by having a fuselage extended by 9.65 meters, the use of more powerful PS-90A1 engines and a modernized avionics complex, as well as a completely new interior of the passenger cabin, increased to 350 passengers.

As they say, you will laugh, but it is in this version that the plane comes closer to the original idea, because at one time the general designer Genrikh Novozhilov “shortened” the airframe due to too little thrust of the Perm engine, which left on the step of the last carriage of state funding from sadly drooping on apron of the Samara engine NK-93. So it remained in the Soviet past. Now no one remembers the former competition between the Perm Design Bureau of Solovyov and the Samara Design Bureau of Kuznetsov; now the Permians have another main enemy. "Pratt-Whitney" is called, and the residents Perm region this name is familiar.

But let’s return to the Il-96-400M, according to which in December 2016 a contract was signed with PJSC “Il” for development work, providing for the development and construction of the first prototype in Voronezh. According to materials published on the official government procurement website, the cost of the contract for development work on the aircraft is more than 10 billion rubles, of which 7.55 billion are allocated for the actual construction of the prototype. About 6 billion have already been received from the state budget in 2016-2017, and the remaining 4 billion will be received by the end of this year.

In a typical two-class configuration, the Il-96-400M will accommodate 326 passengers in three economy class cabins and 24 passengers in business class. The maximum take-off weight of the aircraft has been increased to 270 tons, the maximum payload weight will be 58 tons, and the flight range with a load of 40 tons and an aeronautical fuel reserve will be 8,100 kilometers.
Recently, in July, the Government of the Russian Federation allocated funds in the amount of 1.32 billion rubles of state investment, which will go to the authorized capital of VASO and will be used for the reconstruction and technical re-equipment of production for the production of Il-96-400M. The cost of the entire reconstruction project, which is due to be completed in 2020, is 1.467 billion rubles. That is, the plans are quite serious, there is no turning back.

Backup option?

In the spring of this year, VASO began manufacturing the first parts for the prototype Il-96-400M, and at the same time the slipway for assembling its fuselage, which had previously been occupied by the fuselage of the unfinished fifth Il-96-400T, was cleared. According to the contract, the production of the Il-96-400M prototype should be completed by the end of 2019, and its preliminary flight tests should be carried out between November 2019 and January 2020. Certification tests of the airliner should be completed by June 2020 with the issuance of an addition to the type certificate - approval of a major design change. Around the same time, the MS-21 will also go into production, including with the new Perm PD-14 engines. Thus, the Il-96-400M is frankly a backup option.
Of course, no one will order Aeroflot to buy even a modernized Il-96, but still with four engines; the most likely potential buyer is a special flight squad"Russia". Let us remind you that the country's leadership flies entirely domestic aircraft with Perm engines, and nothing else.

However, who can now say what will happen with sanctions in three years? Americans regularly introduce new restrictions, and there is no end in sight. It is also possible to introduce a moratorium on the sale of new American aircraft, avionics, and aircraft engines to us and to stop servicing existing American-made aircraft. Just like it already happened with Iran, for example.

And since both European aircraft and new Russian ones contain a share of American components and technologies, their purchase and commissioning can also be fraught with significant difficulties and take a significant amount of time. Russia is insuring itself against this peak event, so that we have proven projects in civil aircraft industry, which are carried out without the participation of our “foreign partners”. From the word “absolutely”.

There is no time for economic efficiency here; we are talking about the strategic security of the country. And the Perm PS-90 engine, like an experienced veteran, is always ready to back up the newcomer PD-14, who still has everything ahead of him.

Although the situation is changing so quickly, including the ruble exchange rate, that the Il-96-400M can already compete with Boeings and Airbuses owned by foreign airlines. They will refuel for foreign currency, and our planes - for rubles. Of course, on domestic flights the new IL is still not a competitor to Western aircraft while they are flying.
But let’s better think that sanctions in aviation are just a bad dream.

Text: Alexey Klochikhin

Creation IL 96 by the designers was another attempt to stop the emerging leadership Airbus companies and Boeing in the production of long-range vehicles. In the 90s, when Russia was experiencing an economic recession, a cheap-to-produce, but still inferior in efficiency to Western aircraft, appeared. Russian airliner IL 96.

The history of the Il 96 aircraft

With growth passenger transportation in the late 80s, the need for a new wide-body aircraft increased.

By the end of the first half of the 70s long haul flights were carried out on airplanes IL-62, but the increased flow of passengers forced an increase in the number of flights, the load on airports increased and it became obvious that IL-62 how a long-haul aircraft cannot cope with the difficulties that arise. And the comfort on the Ilyushin is far from the same as that offered by the world’s first wide-body aircraft, the Boeing 747, which was in operation since the end of 1969.

The new car was created on the basis IL-86, where they left the same passenger capacity and flight range of 9 thousand km. The aircraft that received the designation Il-86D, increased the wing area and equipped them with engines NK-56, which were later abandoned in favor of Perm engines PS-90. Therefore, the designer of the machine, Novozhilov, reduced the length of the fuselage, reduced the number passenger seats and made the wing area slightly smaller.

The plane named Il-96-300, took off for the first time on September 28, 1988 under the leadership of crew commander Hero of the Soviet Union S. Bliznyuk. This car flew over North Pole to Portland in 15 hours and made a non-stop flight Moscow - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky - Moscow, covering 14,800 km.

Description of the Il 96 aircraft

Though IL-96 looks like his ancestor IL-86, but the differences are still noticeable. It has a low-lying supercritical wing with a span of 60.1 m2 and reduced sweep. At the ends of the planes there are winglets that reduce inductive reactance.

The T-shaped tail was abandoned on the wide-body aircraft, but to improve directional stability in the event of engine failure, the fin height was increased by one and a half meters. The wing is equipped with mechanization; there are slats in front along the entire tip, and double-slit flaps at the rear. These devices create the necessary lift at high angles of attack without disrupting the air flow.

Cabin Il 96

The airframe uses new composite materials, which reduce the weight of the structure and extend its service life. The chassis of the vehicle is designed according to a three-wheel design: the main struts have four-wheel brakes, the nose two-wheel strut does not have brakes.

IL-96 equipped with four PS-90A engines with a thrust of takeoff mode 16 thousand kg each. The power plants are located on underwing pylons, two on each side of the fuselage. A special feature of the engines is the “Diagnoz-90” electronic control system, which allows you to control the operating parameters of the power plant, fuel consumption and prevent the occurrence of surge.

Thanks to the flight navigation system and electronic system VSUP-85-4 flight control, the IL-96 crew consists of three people (without a navigator). In the cockpit there are displays showing information about flight parameters and navigation conditions; on the central panel there are two more displays indicating operating parameters power plants. The aircraft is controlled by fly-by-wire, three-channel.

Unlike IL-86 The new aircraft has fuel tanks with twice the capacity: four tanks in each console and one inside the fuselage. The air conditioning system is automatic, supplying each passenger with 25.7 kg/hour.

wing and tail unit equipped with an electric pulse anti-icing system that protects their leading edges. The engine air intakes are heated by hot air from the compressor chamber.

Salon Il 96

Comfortable passenger compartment seats 300 people, but for a two-class configuration the capacity is 235 passengers. The lower deck is divided into three compartments for luggage and cargo.

Flight characteristics of Il 96 400

The deep modernization of Ilyushin was Il-96-400, below are the characteristics for this modification:

Wing span – 60.1 m.
Wing area – 391.6 m2.
The length of the aircraft is 63,961 m.
Maximum take-off weight – 265 tons.
The total payload weight is 58 tons.
Flight range – 10 thousand km.
Cruising speed – 870 km/h.
Cruising echelon – 12 thousand m.
Number of passengers – 436 people.
Power plants – PS-90A1.
Crew members – 3 people.

Interesting facts from the operation of the Il 96 aircraft

Il-96 is the only aircraft with a wide fuselage created in the USSR.
In the history of operation of the Il-96, there have been no flight accidents associated with the loss of life - it is a reliable wide-body airliner.
One of the modifications of this aircraft is the Il-96-300PU, which serves as an air control center for the President of the Russian Federation.
Many IL-96 aircraft received their own names in honor of famous pilots and cosmonauts.
In the history of operation of the Il-96, only once was there a flight ban due to a manufacturing defect in the landing gear presidential plane. The ban lasted 42 days - Aeroflot suffered significant losses as a result of this precedent.
The area of the tennis court is one and a half times less area Il-96 wing.

Video: Il 96 400 hard landing in a crosswind

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